An all-time high 79 UIC student athletes were named to the Horizon League Spring Academic Honor Roll, the league announced.  Sixteen of UIC's 18 sports sponsored by the Horizon League were represented.  The total number of honorees outpaced the previous high of 76 in the fall of 2015.  The grand total represents an increase from 71 athletes placed on last fall's honor roll, and 69 represented on last spring's honor roll.

Notably, the UIC athletics program as a whole posted an all-time best 3.15 grade point average.  The previous record of 3.12 was set in the fall semester.  Among individual sports, the men's tennis team had the overall highest GPA at 3.60, with women's cross country and women's golf tied for second at 3.49.

The men's track and field and cross country team led the way for the fourth consecutive semester, with 12 members earning honor roll recognition.  Women's track and field and cross country and women's soccer were right behind them with 11 honorees each.  The baseball team placed eight on the honor roll, while the softball team saw seven players make the grade.

The swimming and diving teams combined for 11 honor roll recipients, with six coming from the men's team and five from the women's.  Five men's soccer players, four players each from women's tennis and volleyball, and three each from women's golf and men's tennis were recognized.

Many Flames turned in outstanding grade point averages in the spring semester.  Seventy-two athletes recorded a GPA of 3.75 or higher, with another 39 logging a GPA between 3.5 and 3.74.  Overall, 194 Flames earned a GPA above 3.0.

The following members of the honor roll achieved perfect 4.0 GPAs in the spring:

Baseball's Reid Birlingmair*, Riley Hebert, Ricardo Ramirez, Connor Ryan, and Mitchell Schulewitz*; along with Taylor Cairns*, Rachel May, and Savannah Soppet* from the softball team.

Cross country/track and field athletes Alex Bashqawi*, Zach Szczesniak*, Kevin Ziegenhorn*, Favio Nunez*, Christian Saporiti, Lizzie Deutsch*, and Allison Hansen*.

Soccer players Sasha Simon*, Olivia Everin, and Haley Kittle; and swimmers and divers Nathan Bosse*, Connor Cast, Dimitar Kirilov, Nicholas Koto, Nicholas Kowaleski, Claire Haggerty*, Annette Lesnicki, and Erin Sivak.

Also, tennis players Carl Hedstrom and Melika LeBlanc*, and golfer Kelly Sterling.

(*-denotes 4.0 GPA for the entire 2016-17 academic year)

In total, 983 student-athletes across the Horizon League's 10 full-time members and one affiliate member made the academic honor roll.  Sports with the most representation were women's track and field/cross country with 132 student-athletes while women's soccer had 128 members.  Men's track and field/cross country was the third highest group with 97 honorees.

Candidates for the Honor Roll must meet three criteria in order to qualify: 1) participation in at least one of the League's 19 sports; 2) completion of three semesters (or four quarters, where applicable) as a full-time student at the same member institution; 3) a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale).

UIC Spring 2017 Horizon League Academic Honor Roll Recipients
Baseball
Reid Birlingmair, So. Liberal Arts & Sciences
Rob Calabrese, Jr. Finance
Charlie Cerny, So. Information and Decision Sciences
Brandon Gibis, Sr. Computer Science
Riley Hebert, R-Fr. Marketing
Ricardo Ramirez, Sr. Finance
Connor Ryan, Sr. Mathematics
Mitchell Schulewitz, Sr. Communication
 
Women's Golf
Kelsey Jensen, Sr. Chemical Engineering
Shannon Menard, Gr. Pharmacy
Kelly Sterling, So. Mathematics
 
Men's Soccer
Oscar Gonzalez, So. Liberal Arts & Sciences
Kyle Hamann, Sr. Biological Sciences
Oscar Rivero, Sr. Management
Gonzalo Romo, Sr. Mechanical Engineering
Sasha Simon, R-Jr. Civil Engineering
 
Women's Soccer
Bekah Allen, R-Jr. Bioengineering
Jasmin Carrera, Sr. Criminal, Law, and Justice
Annie DiCanio, Jr. Sociology
Olivia Everin, Jr. Biological Sciences
Kelly Fritz, Jr. Sociology
Haley Kittle, Jr. Biochemistry
Cecilia Magos, Sr. Biological Sciences
Jenny Novak, Jr. Chemistry
Madison Pollard, Jr. Kinesiology
Paige Proctor, Jr. Marketing
Naomi Rushe, So. Criminal, Law, and Justice
 
Softball
Taylor Cairns, Jr. Biological Sciences
Elaine Heflin, Sr. Criminal, Law, and Justice
Skylee James, So. Biological Sciences
Tiana Mack-Miller, Jr. Biological Sciences
Rachel May, Sr. Kinesiology
Savannah Soppet, Sr. Kinesiology
Jasmine Willis, So. Kinesiology
 
Men's Swimming & Diving
Nathan Bosse, Jr. Biological Sciences
Connor Cast, So. Finance
Dimitar Kirilov, Jr. Computer Science
Nick Koto, So. Biological Sciences
Nick Kowaleski, Sr. Chemical Engineering
Tyler Pastore, Sr. Biological Sciences
 
Women's Swimming & Diving
Daniela Cabrera, So. Mechanical Engineering
Claire Haggerty, Sr. Psychology
Annette Lesnicki, So. Accounting
Marisa Savegnago, Jr. Industrial Design
Erin Sivak, Sr. Urban Education
 
Men's Tennis
Alvaro de la Fuente, So. Industrial Engineering
Carl Hedstrom, Sr. Finance
Marcelo Dib, So. Finance
 
Women's Tennis
Rachel Le Comber, So. Psychology
Melika LeBlanc, Jr. Finance
Oana Manole, Sr. Biological Sciences
Bianca Zuzu, Jr. English
 
Men's Track & Field/Cross Country
Alex Bashqawi, Jr. Mechanical Engineering
Kyle Hauser, Sr. Neuroscience
Zade Kurdieh, Jr. Biochemistry
Nathan Mroz, So. Kinesiology
Zach Szczesniak, So. Electrical Engineering
Kevin Ziegenhorn, So. Finance/Information and Decision Sciences
Alex Bailey, Sr. Criminal, Law, and Justice/Political Science
Pawel Klimek, Jr. Electrical Engineering
Favio Nunez, So. Kinesiology
Christian Saporiti, Sr. Management
Luke Taccola, Jr. Kinesiology
Ray Tolentino, Sr. Finance
 
Women's Track & Field/Cross Country
Lizzie Deutsch, Sr. Psychology/Communication
Allison Hansen, So. Biochemistry
Brittany Schwarz, Sr. Criminal, Law, and Justice
Mia Cruz-Bastian, Jr. Psychology
Ariel Gibbs, Sr. Criminal, Law, and Justice/Sociology
Basirat Iginla, So. Kinesiology
Michelle Laygo, Jr. Biological Sciences
Ann Mikulecky, So. Communication
Desirae Ranberg, Gr. Urban Education
Liliana Ruiz, Jr. Psychology/Criminal, Law, and Justice
Janeka Stokes, So. Liberal Arts & Sciences
 
Volleyball
Alyssa Ehrhardt, Sr. Accounting
Kara Johnson, Sr. Communication
Nicole Johnson, R-Jr. Biochemistry
Ali Witt, So. Marketing